I love this time of year. There are symbols of Christmas everywhere. Of all the symbols of Christmas, my favorite is the star. It's on my cookies, on top of my tree, everywhere. I even made BH hang a big barn star on the front of our house so I could remember how much it means to me each day of the year, but it has special meaning at Christmas.
In scripture we read of the wise men that traveled from the east in search of the Christ child. They were led by faith, having studied the prophesies of the ancient scriptures foretelling the coming of the Messiah, on a journey to not only find Him, but to worship Him.
We are told today that we must "Come unto Him," but without a geographical location we can set our course to, our journey today becomes a pilgrimage of our hearts and minds. And just as the Magi had the bright and wondrous star, we to have a star to guide us as well. We find it as the wise men did, by searching the scriptures and looking heavenward with faith.
Years ago, President Hinckley spoke about another star that guides travelers in their wanderings. He tells of nights spent stargazing as a boy, tracing the Big Dipper to find the North Star. As it held it's position in line with the axis of the earth, it became a beacon and a navigational symbol to centuries of travelers in otherwise turning world.
"Because of those boyhood musings, the Polar Star came to mean something to me. I recognized it as a constant in the midst of change. It was something that could always be counted on, something that was dependable, an anchor in what otherwise appeared to be a moving and unstable firmament.
Love is like the Polar Star. In a changing world, it is a constant. It is of the very essence of the gospel. It is the security of the home. It is the safeguard of community life. It is a beacon of hope in a world of distress."
The Christmas Star, the guiding light of the Savior, is love. It is His love that leads us to Him. It is His love that leads us to rejoice like the magi with exceeding great joy. His love leads us to want to know Him, to live near to Him, to be like Him, to live with Him in love and eternal life.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life...and this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true god, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent.” (John 3:16, 17:3)
Our Father's Christmas gift was His Son, given so that we may know Him, feel His love, and have a way to return back to Him. Our Saviour's Christmas gift was his life and His love for us, culminating in ultimate act of love, the Atonement. We must let their love for us and our love for them fill our lives with intention and purpose.
Christmas can easily be overwhelming with all the decorations to put up, the gifts to make, and the goodies to eat. We can easily become disillusioned with the commercialization and the race to have/give/get the best things. And often we can easily be overcome with heaviness of the heartbreaks we must carry through a season when we wish we could be filled with just happiness.
If we let love be the guiding star of our lives and of our Christmas season, we can find peace in knowing that all the things we choose to do are those that share love for our families. We can find contentment in focusing on giving tokens of love to our friends and neighbors and the love we receive from them. If we let love guide us through the holidays, we can find our broken hearts able to hold joy as well as the holy weight of our heavy hearts. If our intent behind our holiday doings is love, then all we can do will be enough and all we do will be heavenly.
If we let love be our lodestar, we will find Him in each day we've been given. We will find tokens of His love in each day that we are given and be able to give Him the gift that he seeks from us: a heart full of love.
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Monica Lynn is wifey and momma dedicated to making life beautiful. You can follow her adventures at {domestic artistry}
